The holidays are such a great time of year! Many of us get to see our families that we don't get to see year round. We get to share meals with the people we love and just kick back and relax. What we also get, however, is something that we don't want. The potential to gain some extra pounds. If you're aware of the possibilities, you'll be much better prepared to combat holiday weight gain. Here are some quick tips on how you can keep yourself in check over the holidays.
Don't skip workouts. When you're traveling to see family, you don't have your home gym to turn to anymore. So most people take the week off. Don't do this. There are plenty of ways to keep up with your work outs while out of town. My husband and I travel every week. So trust me, going to another gym is easy. You simply go to the front desk of the gym and tell them you are visiting from out of town and would like to get a guest pass. They range in price depending on how many days you want to work out for. Most gyms will charge you somewhere between $10-40. Totally worth it to keep your work outs going. It's also a great way to get "me" time while surrounded by family.

If you aren't up for venturing out to a new gym, do a home work out. You can accomplish plenty with free weights from Target. Take a 15 min jog through the neighborhood and follow it up with light weight training in the garage. Don't forget to hit those abs! You will thank yourself later when you're on that extra glass of wine.

Don't over-indulge on things you aren't that interested in. If you don't like pie typically, don't eat it just because everyone else is! Trust me, I know family members will pressure you to eat more. My family has called me "bird eater" for many years, said my clothes look like "doll clothes" etc. etc. Just smile and laugh it off. What's worse...being made fun of for being disciplined and fit? Or being made fun of for having gained some unnecessary weight? I'll take door number one. The same folks who complain that I don't eat what they want me to are the same ones who ask me how they can get into better shape. They don't mean the picking. Trust me. If you don't go over board on the things that aren't a big deal to you, you'll have room for a little extra of the things you really like. For me...its sweets. I'd rather have a couple of gooey cookies than a dinner roll. So I ditch the dinner roll and let myself have the cookies later.

Don't eat until you're stuffed. Eat only until satisfaction. On Thanksgiving I was never full. I felt good. I didn't shovel food in until I was tired. It's not the turkey that does that to you...its you! Whenever you fill yourself with food up to max capacity you are going to be tired. The food has to digest.

Have your usual dietary needs with you. If you use a particular protein, bring it with you. Protein bars that you snack on, bring them along! Make sure there is water available to you where you are at, or whatever your preferred drink is. My family drinks soda. I don't. So whenever I'm staying with them I make sure I have alternatives to drink so I'm not tempted to drink the soda. I also eat more frequently than they do because I work out a lot. So I make sure to have my protein bars on hand so I can eat what I want, when I want.

The holidays can be crazy, indeed. But when you plan ahead you can keep the holidays well within your control!